LA 1: Leeville to Fourchon complete

Within the next month, the current stretch of La. Highway 1 that runs from Leeville to Fourchon will be inconsequential for commuters to and from the Gulf of Mexico energy exploration hub.

A seven-mile segment of elevated highway connecting Fourchon to Lafourche Parish’s highway in the sky is scheduled to open at 1:30 p.m. on Dec. 9, said Henri Boulet, executive director of the LA 1 Coalition.

The ribbon cutting will symbolize the completion of a $143 million two-lane highway, and it will close the book on the first phase of the LA 1 Coalition’s highway improvement plan. The nearly completed phase aimed to circumvent the low-lying and “vulnerable” stretch of Highway 1.

“When we have the storms that come in and the high tides put wave action right on (existing La. Highway 1), you always have that vulnerability,” Boulet said. “Right after that storm leaves and the water goes out, we never know if we have a road left.”

Drivers exiting the bridge and those approaching it from A O Rappelet Road will have permanent rights of way when driving straight or making a right-hand turn. Drivers who wish to make a left-hand turn will be required to yield to oncoming traffic. A two-way stop sign will be placed on existing Highway 1 on either side of the bridge’s entry point.

“The (state’s) rule of thumb is that they first accommodate the majority of the traffic,” Boulet said. “In traffic counts that we’ve done on the highway, it’s determined that 65 percent of the traffic year-round is going only to Fourchon and 35 percent continues on to Grand Isle.”

The LA 1 Coalition was formed in 1997 as a 501(c) 4 non-profit corporation that seeks to procure funding for an elevated La. Highway 1.

Coalition applies for $18.4 million from US DOT

The LA 1 Coalition submitted its request Oct. 31 to the U.S. Department of Transportation for $18.4 million in federal funds needed to commence the first of three segments included in the improvement plan’s second phase.

The state pledged to complement the federal funds with $20 million, and four local entities pledged $6.6 million. The segment, which totals $45 million in costs, is a portion of the $320 million Phase 2 is projected to cost in its entirety.

“They were only asking for a 20 percent match,” Boulet said. “In this case, we’re providing like a 60 percent match. We do feel that on the criteria which addresses local and private industry support that we should score extremely high.”

The coalition’s second phase aims to connect the Leeville Bridge with an elevated highway that would rise from behind the southernmost portion of the Larose-to-Golden Meadow levee system. The first segment will begin in Golden Meadow and allow contractors to complete the rest of the bridge using an end-on construction method, which eliminates the need for construction canals.

Boulet said it allows for highway construction by “utilizing cranes that are supporting on trussels with temporary pilings. They actually build the highway underneath the crane.”

The Department of Transportation will dole out $526.9 million in Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery discretionary funds. Of that number, at least $140 million must be awarded to rural areas, which includes the coalition’s project site.

Included in the coalition’s grant application are two federal agencies’ studies, one environmental and the other economic, that testify to the necessity of improved infrastructure.

Released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in February, the environmental study says that within 20 years, La. Highway 1 would be inundated by relative sea level rise with enough storm water to close the highway 30 times per year.

The economic study says the U.S. Gross Domestic Product would suffer because of the energy-related revenue lost during those closures, Boulet said. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s NIMSAT Institute coordinated to complete the study, which should be made public within the next month.

“Having these studies done by the federal agencies is something that the grant evaluators won’t be able to deny,” Boulet said.

Officials have already begun gathering geotechnical analysis and acquiring rights of way for the second phase.

Even if the first segment is funded and completed, the coalition will still have to secure $275 million in funds to finish its mission. Boulet said he doesn’t yet know where the funding will come from, but he is monitoring President Barack Obama’s “Jobs Bill,” the possibility of a Congressional highway bill, which hasn’t been issued in six years, and other federal funding opportunities.

The coalition has twice failed to win TIGER funds for the second phase of the highway improvement plan. Last year, its $100 million application was denied, and in 2009, the coalition failed to have its $300 million application approved.

“We’ve made substantial progress, and we’re going to keep up that aggressive campaign until we complete Phase 2 and we have secured 19.5 feet of elevated highway from the last levee-protected community in Golden Meadow all the way down to Port Fourchon,” Boulet said.